5 Ways Fintech Is Helping Small Businesses

01 June 2021

Technology has been playing an important role in innovating small business solutions. One of the ways to maximize its use is through financial technology or fintech that can enhance resource utilization.

Fintech is proven helpful for both business leaders and consumers, making financial processes more efficient with specialized software and algorithms. Most businesses use it for proper management of funds or finances. It also allows them to effectively grow in a competitive market by incorporating services like mobile wallets, financial asset trading, and accounting automation that saves time. Understanding how fintech works can boost productivity and improve customer satisfaction.

To expertly grow a small business, start revisiting its financial model and look into the following ways on how to benefit from fintech.

E-Commerce

There is an exceptional growth of e-commerce over the past years especially when lockdowns have been implemented in different countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Small businesses have therefore started to examine and rely on e-commerce. This has allowed them to adapt to the evolved market where customers don’t need to go to physical stores anymore.

With a website or mobile application that offers the same products such as those available in a store, customers can get their desired products without leaving the safety of their homes which also lessens carbon footprint emission. This is also applicable to businesses as they gradually achieve a balance between the greenhouse gasses they emit and take out. Using e-commerce can help business owners turn their enterprises into net-zero companies and consumers become more responsible citizens.

Simpler Financial Processing

Establishing online stores also means the necessity of online payment methods. A lot of processing firms have been partnering with small businesses like Paypal to help them adapt to the digital landscape.

By paying through cards, be it debit or credit, the way in which customers and clients transact with the business will be much simpler. This wouldn’t be possible without the use of fintech solutions. It is also wise to have cost-efficient small business shipping options ready that suit the company’s needs and offerings.

While it provides easier ways to collect payment from customers, it can also help pay off creditors, suppliers, or vendors in a convenient manner as it breaks the limitations of cross-border transactions involving different currencies. Fintech has basically made things easier for business owners to run their operations smoothly.

Smooth Account Management

Needless to say, all businesses should be able to properly manage their accounts to establish credibility and transparency. Optimal operations cannot be expected if invoices, salaries, and investments are not promptly delivered.

As more small businesses put their faith in fintech, they get to explore various methods to conveniently manage their accounts with real-time financial monitoring that ensures everything is in order. Being able to track activity in such a manner can further give business owners peace of mind as guesswork gets taken out by fintech’s capacity. It is equally important to utilize the best applications and software to effectively manage accounts. There are many tools available that can be considered for app development to tailor-fit the system to the requirements of the company.

Once this is in place, business owners can focus on other aspects to make the small business thrive at the most beneficial pacing.

Better Customer Engagement and Privacy

One of the biggest threats that businesses face is an invasion of privacy through data breaches. Small businesses must be on their toes daily to keep their data secure especially those that are of their customers and finances. Fintech removes this concern as it has various types of security packages, letting businesses arm themselves with a line of defense against cyber attacks.

This guarantee can also put customers at ease as they subscribe to the business and buy something from it. Apart from the security and improved transaction process that fintech can provide, it can also give useful insights to business owners. There are a lot of services that can let them keep track of customer behavior. It also allows them to boost engagement by utilizing chat and have a better grasp of their patterns through a customer library that has all their activities on the website or app.

Depending on the engagement campaign, the business can integrate its social media hangouts with its financial payment system as well. The insights that fintech can provide will help business owners further understand the needs and perceptions of their customers so they would be able to design better strategies moving forward.

Small Business Loans

It might be difficult for small business owners to acquire a loan nowadays as they must meet a required credit score first. There is also the time-consuming process of completing a loan application and getting all the necessary documents to apply for a loan or funding.

The good thing is, many lenders are already in the digital world which significantly makes the tiresome loan application process easier for small businesses. The transition to online transactions eliminates the seemingly endless paperwork and only requires businesses to follow an outlined step-by-step process to get the funding that they need. Fintech makes the whole business environment more efficient as it connects lenders and borrowers. Indeed, this is one of the biggest benefits that small businesses can get from the advanced landscape of the fintech industry.

These are just some of the ways how financial technology has been helping small businesses start and thrive in an ever-changing business environment that is now largely booming in the digital world.